Flagg Mountain, Alabama

 Flagg Mountain, Alabama is where Bart and I began our Great Eastern Trail adventure.

It now has its own Facebook page: Flagg Mountain.

From their site: "A new interest group is being formed, "The Friends of Flagg Mountain", to provide valuable input and assistance in restoring the cabins and fire tower on Flagg Mountain to their original conditions, and to also plan the future use of this historic site.
We need your help. We need your ideas on how to best restore the buildings and tower on Flagg Mountain, and how to use the property in the future."

The tower and the mountain are both much prettier than they looked when fogged-in on a mid-January day.

Steuben County, NY

The escaped prisoners from New York have possibly been spotted in Steuben County.

Fun fact: the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Trail is also in Steuben County!

CNY Hiking has a whole page about hiking opportunities in Steuben County, including South Bradford State Forest where Moss Hill Lean-To is.  It's a gorgeous county that probably rarely has escaped killers lurking around.

The second sighting was closer to Pennsylvania's Cowanesque Lake on the Mid State Trail than Moss Hill Lean-To.

Exciting times near the GET.

2 years later . . .

Two years ago today, Bart and I made it to Moss Hill Lean-To and the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Trail.  

It amazes me how the experience continues to enrich and influence my life, from the friends I made to big life decisions that the trail shines light on from afar.  To say that I'm grateful for the trail does not even begin to describe it.

Thank you to all who were part of the journey!

Recent SAR near the Great Eastern Trail

When a short hike goes wrong is a news story about a recent successful rescue mission in the Ramsey Draft Wilderness in Virginia, which the Great Eastern Trail passes through, hosted on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail.

The Mountain House trailhead where the hikers got lost is just down the mountain from a GET trailhead at Confederate Breastworks.

Coincidentally, Confederate Breastworks is where a man went missing in November 2012.  No trace has been found.

Remember to be prepared even for dayhikes.

View from Confederate Breastworks trailhead

Shepherd and Star Left's GET adventure

The GET will finally have a southbound attempt this year: Shepherd and Star Left will be leaving soon.  It'll take them awhile to reach the Great Eastern Trail; they are beginning at Niagara Falls! When they reach Moss Hill Lean-To and the official northern terminus, they'll already be hiking machines.

Shepherd's Trail Journal can be found here.  Star Left's Trail Journal is here.

I will so enjoy following their journey and I hope you will too!

Godspeed, Shepherd and Star Left, and don't forget to carry a rock out of Pennsylvania and bring it to Maryland. ;)